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This is another paper I wrote, except it was two years ago. My vocabulary has improved somewhat since I wrote this, but it's one of my favorites.

In case any of you haven't figured it out, I'm a history geek. I hate writing in general... unless it involves sitting in front of a computer for five hours straight, typing up a massive paper on a history topic I love.

Genghis Khan: Conqueror For the Ages

They struck fear into the hearts of all those who trembled at the sound of their thundering hoof beats. They gave their victims one option: complete and utter surrender. If they refused, then widespread massacre, terror, and enslavement would follow. They ruthlessly conquered an empire that stretched from Korea to Hungary, and from the East China Sea to the Mediterranean. They were the Mongols. The Europeans who encountered them described them as huge, savage, cruel and godless cannibals who ate their own prisoners and whose horses were large enough to eat trees. While many of these accounts were exaggerated, these fierce nomads were ruthless in battle, killing nearly all those who opposed them and enslaving those few who they spared. With their skilled horsemanship, fierce fighting skills, and superior leadership, the Mongols, led by their great leader, Genghis Khan, accumulated the largest land empire the world has ever known. Born in the 1160’s by the Onon River, Temujin(his birth name) had a tough childhood. When he was only 9, his father, Yisugei, was poisoned by enemy tribesmen. Temujin and his brothers caught fish and other game to help support themselves and their mother, and as he grew, Temujin exhibited the qualities of a born leader and planner. As an adult, Temujin brought several tribes under his control through conquest or bestowal of booty. He defeated the rest, including the Tatars, who had killed his father years before. In 1205 he defeated the Naiman, the last powerful enemy tribe that opposed him. In 1206 at a kuriltai, or great assembly, Temujin was enthroned as Genghis Khan- “strong ruler”. Soon after, he set his sights on Asia. The Mongol warrior was a feared fighting machine. Riding a small, sturdy steppe horse and armed primarily with a composite bow and up to three quivers of arrows, he wore armor made of leather that had been hardened in animal urine. Along with a bow and arrow, the Mongol cavalryman was armed with a lance with hook and snare, a curved saber, and a dagger strapped to his left arm. This deadly combination of light armor, expert horsemanship, and skill with numerous weapons made the Mongol soldier unrivaled in battle. Genghis Khan was about to put his skilled cavalrymen to good use. His first target was the Xi Xia empire, to the south of Mongolia. The Xi Xia army first attacked Genghis in a mountain pass. Seeing that he couldn’t break through, the Mongol leader feigned retreat, a favorite tactic of his. As the Xi Xia army came out in pursuit, the Mongols suddenly turned and tore back through the Xi Xia lines and captured the enemy commander. In 1210 Emperor Xiangzong sought peace, offering tribute and a daughter as a wife for Genghis. Xi Xia was now considered a vassal state. In 1211, Genghis Khan turned covetous eyes to the kingdom east of Xi Xia. Home to 20 million people and vastly richer than the Xi Xia kingdom, the Jin empire was the next target to feel the wrath of the Mongols. With 70,000 troops Genghis attacked the regime. Though the Jin army was huge (some estimates put it as high as 600,000), many soldiers were of uncertain loyalty. Genghis took full advantage of this situation. He sent one of his trusted generals, Jebe, to the Juyong Pass to attack Jin soldiers waiting there. Jebe surprised the soldiers with the feigned retreat trick. Though he surrounded Zhongdu, the Jin capital, Genghis lacked the means to scale the forty foot walls. He took 3 years to gather stone launching mangonels with which to take the city with, and kept his soldiers content by sending them to ravage the Jin countryside. The giant engines of war wouldn’t be needed, though. In 1214, beset with internal and political problems, Emperor Xuanzong offered treasure and a Jin princess to marry Genghis if he and his army would withdraw. Unfortunately, the Jin hadn’t seen the last of the Mongols. A year later, when the emperor moved his capital south to Kaifeng, Genghis suspected him of regrouping for an attack. The Mongols stormed back to starve Zhongdu into submission, then to loot, rape, and massacre. Meanwhile, events in Kara-Khitai, on the western borders of the Mongol kingdom, alarmed Genghis. Kuchlug, a renegade enemy from the former Mongol tribe of Naiman, had seized power there in 1218. And he was gathering allies. Genghis, worrying that Kuchlug planned to attack him, sent Jebe with 20,000 horsemen. When the army was sighted on the ramparts of Kashgar, where Kuchlug had seized power, the locals cheered wildly, a rare reception for the dreaded Mongols. The reason was that most of the people of Kara-Khitai were Muslim. Kuchlug had forbidden them to worship and had even executed an imam. Jebe and his soldiers stormed the city, beheaded Kuchlug and his associates, and Genghis took the friendly people of Kara-Khitai under his wing (Edwards 2-37). Now that his kingdom touched the Kwarizm regime, which stretched from China to Iran, Genghis sent 450 merchants with gifts to Shah Muhammad at Samarkand, proposing trade between the two great empires. When the merchants reached Utrar at the eastern edge of Muhammad’s empire, the governor of that city, Inalchug, seized and executed them, suspecting them to be spies. When Genghis sent an ambassador to the shah, demanding the governor be handed over for punishment, Muhammad instead killed the ambassador and sent his head to Genghis. The Mongols firmly believed in the absolute inviolability of an ambassador; this was a heinous crime in their eyes (Edwards 2-37). Shah Muhammad probably felt very safe, with an army of 400,000, but many were of uncertain loyalty. He was also not very popular among his heavily taxed subjects. It is a fact, that nearly every single victim state that Genghis Khan attacked was already crippled by internal problems or disloyalty. Thus it was once again a fragile regime that braced for a Mongol onslaught (Edwards 2-37). As Genghis readied his army for battle in 1219, he requested troops from Xi Xia. They flatly refused, saying that if he didn’t have enough troops, he had no business being khan. Though severely outnumbered, Genghis boldly split his forces as he advanced on Kwarizm. One group attacked Utrar, while another stormed into the southern part of the Shah’s realm. Genghis rode west to Bukhara. With no strategy to counter this attack, Muhammad had no choice but to keep his troops hunkered down in his cities. As each city fell, the troops besieged there were brutally massacred. At Utrar, a garrison of several thousand held out for more than a month while Mongol bombardiers filled the city with 100 pound boulders and naphtha, a slow burning substance that was difficult to put out with water. Inalchug, the governor who had killed Genghis’s traders, fought to the end, hurdling bricks from the top of his fortress (Edwards 2-37). The victors razed the citadel and the city walls. The Mongols swept from city to city, consuming them in an orgy of rape, pillage, and massacre. In Bukhara, the city fathers opened their gates. Genghis commanded that the riches of the wealthy be brought to him. He then gave the city to his troops to loot. In Urgench, 100,000 defenders were slain in a vicious battle. The Mongols then diverted the course of the nearby river and flooded the city’s remnants. In Afghanistan, Balkh, fabled “mother of cities”, surrendered without a fight, yet its population was massacred. In 1221, Herat was taken and at first Genghis spared the city. But after his army left, the citizens rebelled against the small force that remained. The Mongol army returned, with predictable consequences. When the Mongols attacked and destroyed Samarkand, the Kwarizm capital, Shah Muhammad and his son, Jalad al-Din, managed to flee before their arrival. But now, while Shah Muhammad fled wildly from Genghis, Jalad al-Din rode south into Afghanistan and gathered men to his banner. After Jalad defeated one of Genghis’ lieutenants who’d been sent after him, the great Khan himself took charge, pinning Jalad against the Indus river. Unable to break through, the Kwarizm heir leaped into the water and swam away. In respect for Jalad’s bravery and fearlessness, Genghis forbade his archers to shoot. “Such a son must a father have!”, he marveled (Edwards 2-37). And as for Muhammad, Jebe and another top Mongol general, Subedei, chased Muhammad through Iran to the Caspian Sea, where he died in the rags of a servant from pleurisy. When Jebe and Subedei reached the Caspian, they pondered what lay beyond it. Europe was as foreign to them as Mongolia was to the Europeans. Assembling a reconnaissance force of 20,000, they embarked on a scouting mission in force around the Caspian sea. Riding out, they trounced two armies in Georgia, then defeated a Turkic coalition of tribes on the Russian steppe. As they advanced, word spread like wildfire to the five not yet united Russian principalities of Kiev, Chernigov, Galicia, Rostov, and Suzdal that the fearful invaders were drawing closer. The Russian princes mustered an 80,000 man army that challenged the Mongols near the Kalka River in 1223. As the Mongols rode forward, firing arrows, some of the princes charged hastily, only to see the archers vanish behind fires made by lighting dung and naphtha. Blundering through the smoke, the soldiers discovered not lightly armed archers but cavalrymen brandishing lance and sword and mace. As parts of the Russian force turned in confusion, they ran into units behind them, and thus a rout began (Edwards 2-37). Later, the two victorious generals Jebe and Subedei ate on top of a large wooden box. Inside it, three captured Russian princes were suffocating, a means of execution chosen because it is a Mongol custom not to spill the blood of a respected warrior. It is doubtful that the princes appreciated the courtesy (Edwards 2-37). Soon the intrepid duo continued on their way, passing the Volga river, annihilating every opposing army in their path, acquiring fresh horses by conquest, living off the land, and riding 8000 miles, circling the Caspian Sea in one of the greatest cavalry exploits in history, before finally rejoining Genghis on the Asian steppe. Finally, after several years of fighting and conquering, the Mongols and Genghis Khan headed for home. As they rode, they amassed incredible wealth from Central Asia. Warriors and their horses collected gold, silver, bolts of silk, jewels, bags of coins, and numerous other riches that they brought back to their homeland. Many historians say that the Mongol depredation of some countries strangled their development for centuries (Edwards 2-37). But first, Genghis Khan had to avenge the Xi Xia kingdom’s insult when they refused to provide him with soldiers during the Kwarizm campaign. Furthermore, Xi Xia had attempted to wriggle free of Mongol control while Genghis was abroad in Central Asia. In 1226, the Great Khan led his soldiers into the Xi Xia empire and attacked Yinchuan, their new capital. Records vary on how the Mongols took the city. Some think they broke the dike to the city’s canal, undermining the wall and compelling the people to surrender. Others say the Yinchuan people surrendered after fierce battles outside of their walls. But the Mongol victory was overshadowed by much more tragic news. Genghis Khan was dying. He had already chosen Ogodei, third son of his first wife, Borte, as his successor, as he deemed Ogodei as wise and valorous. Early on in the Xi Xia campaign, Genghis had been out hunting wild asses when his mount shied and he was thrown from his saddle. When he was helped to his tent, he was in great pain. He had also been ill for sometime, possibly from typhus, and for several days he lay dying. From his deathbed, he ordered the extermination of the Xi Xia people. His soldiers were said to have killed “mothers and fathers down to the offspring of their offspring”, though some of them were merely enslaved instead (Edwards 2-25). Finally, in August, 1227, somewhere south of Yinchuan, Genghis Khan died at the age of 60. His body was borne to Mongolia for burial near a mountain called Burkhan Khaldun. It is said that every person encountered along his funeral procession was executed to keep his burial place a secret. He was buried with 40 horses and 40 “moonlike virgins” for his enjoyment in the afterlife (Edwards 2-37). History records that a thousand horsemen trampled on his burial site to discourage grave robbers. These precautions seemed to have worked, because 800 years later, the final resting place of the man who conquered half the world has yet to be found. Though Genghis Khan was no more, the thundering of his horses was far from silenced. Under his son Ogodei and his grandsons Guyuk, Mongke, and Kublai, the Mongols would surge anew into Southern Asia, Russia, and Europe. With their horsemanship, immense skill with an array of weapons, and superior leadership, they were unmatched on the battlefield, enabling them to conquer the largest land empire in the history of the world. These warriors are known today as “the devil’s horsemen”, ruthless nomads with an unquenchable thirst for power and conquest. The world will never forget them.

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Damnit, did all of my essays by hand. I'm really proud of my Othello essay too.

Hey man, type it up and paste it up here. I'd be glad to check it out.

Except I have yet to read Othello, unfortunately, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it anyway...

--------------------

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Damnit, did all of my essays by hand. I'm really proud of my Othello essay too.

Hey man, type it up and paste it up here. I'd be glad to check it out.

Except I have yet to read Othello, unfortunately, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it anyway...

I'd do that...If I hadn't long since given it to the examiners. They have it know. Oh well, at least I got an A.

Sorry, dude. What are you thoughts about mine?

--------------------

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Damnit, did all of my essays by hand. I'm really proud of my Othello essay too.

Hey man, type it up and paste it up here. I'd be glad to check it out.

Except I have yet to read Othello, unfortunately, but I'm sure I'd enjoy it anyway...

I'd do that...If I hadn't long since given it to the examiners. They have it know. Oh well, at least I got an A.

Sorry, dude. What are you thoughts about mine?

I'm gonna read it in a minute or two. I'm just pulling out a few essays that I do have on my computer, and posting them first. I'll give an opinion soon.

Sure thing. This is what I wanted to get going. We'll see the writing skillz of everybody on here.

--------------------

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Having not done the Mongols in history class, I don't know how correct the essay is. I can say, however, that it interested me greatly, and the Mongols sound like they were an impressive and vicious military force, and Genghis himself was a military genius.

Having not done the Mongols in history class, I don't know how correct the essay is. I can say, however, that it interested me greatly, and the Mongols sound like they were an impressive and vicious military force, and Genghis himself was a military genius.

Thanks.

--------------------

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Mine too. Few have done so much in so little time. Perhaps Alexander the Great, and maybe Hannibal, also have rivaled his greatness in such short time. Hannibal pissed off the entire Roman Army for about 30 years before they finally got rid of him. Alexander, well, I don't have to say much. In about 11 years, he conquered the largest empire until that time, expanded it quite a bit, and conquered most of the known world... all before the age of 33.

--------------------

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Mine too. Few have done so much in so little time. Perhaps Alexander the Great, and maybe Hannibal, also have rivaled his greatness in such short time. Hannibal pissed off the entire Roman Army for about 30 years before they finally got rid of him. Alexander, well, I don't have to say much. In about 11 years, he conquered the largest empire until that time, expanded it quite a bit, and conquered most of the known world... all before the age of 33.

hey khan v.s alexander would be a great battle to put in the history section, you'd be eprfect for writing it too.

--------------------

Points:

"The first shot rang out from somewhere and I heard a bullet wiz by my face. With my pump action shotgun ready, I shoot the first fool I see."

Mine too. Few have done so much in so little time. Perhaps Alexander the Great, and maybe Hannibal, also have rivaled his greatness in such short time. Hannibal pissed off the entire Roman Army for about 30 years before they finally got rid of him. Alexander, well, I don't have to say much. In about 11 years, he conquered the largest empire until that time, expanded it quite a bit, and conquered most of the known world... all before the age of 33.

hey khan v.s alexander would be a great battle to put in the history section, you'd be eprfect for writing it too.

oh and Hannibal did that when Rome, was just well rome. i highly doubt he could've done this when rome, was ROME ONE OF THE GREATEST EMPIRES IN CIVILIZATION. if you get my drift

--------------------

Points:

"The first shot rang out from somewhere and I heard a bullet wiz by my face. With my pump action shotgun ready, I shoot the first fool I see."

Mine too. Few have done so much in so little time. Perhaps Alexander the Great, and maybe Hannibal, also have rivaled his greatness in such short time. Hannibal pissed off the entire Roman Army for about 30 years before they finally got rid of him. Alexander, well, I don't have to say much. In about 11 years, he conquered the largest empire until that time, expanded it quite a bit, and conquered most of the known world... all before the age of 33.

hey khan v.s alexander would be a great battle to put in the history section, you'd be eprfect for writing it too.

oh and Hannibal did that when Rome, was just well rome. i highly doubt he could've done this when rome, was ROME ONE OF THE GREATEST EMPIRES IN CIVILIZATION. if you get my drift

You are correct. The empire was still developing. It was still a republic. Alright, scratch that with hannibal.

--------------------

"Never in the course of human history has so much been owed by so many to so few."- Winston Churchill, commenting on the heroic struggles of the RAF against the German Luftwaffe.

----I don't smoke, I don't chew... and I don't date girls who do.

----

War produces classic remarks by military commanders; on February 26, 1991, the US 1st Armored Division, the famous Big Red One, encountered the allegedly elite Iraqi Republican Guard. The divisional commander, Major General Ronald Griffiths, radioed his deputy, who was riding with the armored spearhead. "I understand we are engaging the Medina Division?" he said, referring to one of the crack Iraqi Guard divisions. "Negative, sir," came the reply. "We are destroying the Medina Division."Great proof that despite their quantity, the Soviet tanks that NATO planners feared above all else could be shredded by the M1 Abrams, Challenger 2, Leopard 2, LeClerc, Ariete, and Merkava with ease. Patton would be proud.

Mine too. Few have done so much in so little time. Perhaps Alexander the Great, and maybe Hannibal, also have rivaled his greatness in such short time. Hannibal pissed off the entire Roman Army for about 30 years before they finally got rid of him. Alexander, well, I don't have to say much. In about 11 years, he conquered the largest empire until that time, expanded it quite a bit, and conquered most of the known world... all before the age of 33.

hey khan v.s alexander would be a great battle to put in the history section, you'd be eprfect for writing it too.

oh and Hannibal did that when Rome, was just well rome. i highly doubt he could've done this when rome, was ROME ONE OF THE GREATEST EMPIRES IN CIVILIZATION. if you get my drift

You are correct. The empire was still developing. It was still a republic. Alright, scratch that with hannibal.

do you think napolean, as far military genius goes, is up there with khan and alexander?

--------------------

Points:

"The first shot rang out from somewhere and I heard a bullet wiz by my face. With my pump action shotgun ready, I shoot the first fool I see."